“Dinner” by Heston – and the Legendary “Meat fruit” .

Dinner by Heston – There`s not a great deal that i can write about the place that hasn`t already been written in the many blogs and media reports during the 7 months since the place opened. Obviously the main question that people will want to know is ” how do i secure a booking at Hestons” ?….well the simple answer is to do the usual and pick the phone up a month in advance. Another option is to phone up and go on to the `waiting list`.The last option is the one that we chose….`Take a chance and just turn up`….try a simple `walk in`….. and that`s the one that worked for us.We chose to do a Saturday lunch service and headed over to Knightsbridge at 12.00, went straight to the restaurant reception desk and addressed the two young ladies …..with a big friendly hello and an even bigger smile. Something obviously worked, they quickly checked their reservation sheets and came back with an ” absolutely no problem Mr Spedding , but can you be off your table in just over 1 1/2 hours” ?….. Nooooooooooo problem ,let`s do it…..fantastic. So in a nutshell , the walk in worked a treat. If it had been a thumbs down then Koffmanns at the Berkeley is only over the road and that`s a fabulous place to lunch ,we would have just gone over the road for a pigs trotter fest., ( click HERE to see my post on lunch there).

We were shown to our table , right by the windows overlooking Hyde park , 2 menus , 2 glasses of wine and the order went straight into the kitchen. It was now 12:15 and almost every table was taken. The menu was spot on , lots of choice at each course and no other option than a.l.c. There`s a £28 lunch menu on through the week but thats off on weekends.No tasting menus have been introduced just yet.

The bread arrived at our table….Oh wow , it was the same bread as the Fat Duck…..”the worlds best bread”. It was a Sourdough with the crispiest ,tastiest crust going.What a fantastic start , we both got stuck straight into the bread and the organic butter.Anyone experiencing this bread i`m sure will agree here…it doesn`t get any better than this…..Anywhere.

As far as starters at `dinner` go then `meat fruit` has to be the most popular by a long mile.I looked around the tables , everyone seemed to be eating it. I definitely wanted to try it but also wanted my partner to eat something else, just for the foodie geeky blogger pics .I tried to convince her that the Roast Scallops would be amazing…..she wasn`t having any of it and replied – “sounds lovely…go for it”….. I tried again……” Honey , this Hay smoked Mackerel sounds lovely , it comes with a nice light lemon salad” …. i didn`t want to hear her reply…..” Sounds beautiful , are you getting it” ? “No honey , i`m having `meat fruit”…… “Ahhhh , so am i “…………Ermmmmm , ” that`s two meat fruit then “….typical.

So , the two little boards of `meat fruit` arrived at the table .Its one of those dishes that everyone just sits and looks at and it seems criminal to take the knife to it. As i know only too well when i made my own attempt at the recipe at home ( CLICK HERE )….. 6 bloody days to make the little blighters. The meat fruits were carefully placed on their little wooden serving boards alongside a piece of grilled bread , nothing else is required…Simply cut through the Mandarin jelly into the creamy chicken liver parfait and then spread it on the toasted bread.It was a simple concept and tasted fantastic. £13.50 each.

Main courses were quite interesting and there was nine to choose from ranging in price from £23 to a £72 ( 2 to share ). I chose the “Powdered Duck” with Smoked fennel and potato puree ( £26.50 ) whilst my partner opted for the Veggie main of Braised Celery with parmesan , pickled walnuts, apple and onion at (£23.00).

The Chips below aren`t Hestons famous “Triple cooked chips”, they`re just normal ones.Apparently if the correct potato isn`t in season to make the triple cooked version then the restaurant takes them off the menu…Top marks.

On to the desserts and my favourite part of the meal.I had actually planned to order 4 desserts as we are both so sweet toothed pudding lovers.Due to the amount of bread we consumed we were both totally stuffed and could only just manage the one dessert each. I opted for the Fat Duck classic the”Taffety Tart” , Apple, Rose , Fennel and Blackcurrant sorbet ( £ 9.50 ) I had always looked upon this dessert as a piece of art , a true treat for the eyes.It lived up to its reputation , i ate it slowly…very slowly and enjoyed every single morsel.

My partner went for the dessert thats going to be as famous as the Meat fruit.She chose the Tipsy cake with Spit roasted Pineapple ( £10.00 ).This dessert came in a small cast iron pan, a hot , creamy and boozy brioche type pudding which was accompanied by the caramelised , sticky and very very moreish spit roasted Pineapple….another winner.

So to sum up “Dinner by Heston” , a very enjoyable lunch indeed. I was hoping to meet Ashley the chef who`s running the whole set up but unfortunately he was off that day.The guys in the kitchen done him proud though….a very pleasant experience. As for the meat fruit, well i would like to say my home made version was up to the mark but after tasting the “real deal” ….. I`ll have to settle for Silver medal. Ill try the 6 day challenge again for my xmas day starter this year.